Nest Labs, vanguard of the smart home and creator of the revolutionary smart thermostat of the same name, is reportedly on the verge of closing a new round of funding. According to sources speaking with Re/code (the rebranded/redesigned AllthingsD), Nest Labs is close to completing a deal to raise more than $150 million, based on a valuation of roughly $2 billion.
Those figures could potentially be even higher with more investors vying for the deal, but sources close to the situation are saying the deal has already been closed by global investment firm Digital Sky Technologies. DST (an early-stage investor in companies like Facebook, Zynga, and Groupon) has locked down the bulk of the new investment, but Nest’s current investors – including Google Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and a handful of others – will also participate.
At this time last year, the company was valued at about $800 million, so if this new deal closes, Nest’s value will have almost tripled in 2013 alone. This increase comes as investors are attracted to the company’s high-caliber CEO, former Apple exec Tony Fadell, a man who played an instrumental role in the development of the iPod.
With Fadell at the helm, Nest has already begun to expand the company’s product line, and is quickly proving itself to be a leader in smart home technologies. Late last year, the company followed up its thermostat with Protect, a smart and impeccably designed smoke/carbon monoxide detector.
Its unclear whether the company has any new products in the works at this point in time, but with this fresh round of funding in a market that’s still got plenty of room for innovation, we’re expecting big things.
We’ll have more details to share next week once CES 2014 kicks off in Las Vegas, so be sure to circle back for more info.
